The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Corylus plant (hazelnut, filbert), botanically known as Corylus avellana, and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘York’. Corylus avellana is in the family Betulaceae.
The new Corylus resulted from a controlled cross of female parent OSU 479.027 (unpatented) and male parent OSU 504.065 (unpatented) made in 1997 by Shawn A. Mehlenbacher and David C. Smith. Hybrid seeds from the cross were harvested in August 1997, stratified, and seedlings grown in the greenhouse during the summer of 1998. From this cross, total of 183 seedling trees were planted in the field in Corvallis, Oreg., USA in October, 1998. ‘York’ was discovered and selected by the Inventors as a single plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Corvallis, Oreg.
‘York’ was originally assigned the designation OSU 878.048, which indicates the row and tree location of the original seedling. OSU 479.027 is from a cross of OSU 231.111 (unpatented)×OSU 226.122 (unpatented). OSU 504.065 is from a cross of OSU 186.080 (unpatented)×VR 17-15 (unpatented). The pedigree of ‘York’ includes ‘Barcelona’ (unpatented) widely grown in Oregon, ‘Casina’ from Asturias, Spain (unpatented), ‘Tonda Gentile delle Langhe’ from Piemonte, northern Italy (unpatented), ‘Montebello’ from Sicily, Italy (unpatented), and ‘Tombul Ghiaghli’, a Turkish cultivar obtained from Greece (unpatented).
The new cultivar was asexually reproduced by rooted suckers annually for eight years (2003-2010) in Corvallis, Oreg. The new cultivar was also asexually propagated by whip grafting in Corvallis, Oreg. The unique features of this new Corylus are stable and reproduced true-to-type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.